European Shares Seen Opening Little Changed

European stocks are seen opening narrowly mixed on Tuesday as diplomatic efforts continued to defuse the Ukraine situation.

Russia has reportedly deployed nearly 100,000 troops at its border with Ukraine, but says a diplomatic solution is still possible.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Moscow today to meet President Vladimir Putin in a high stakes mission to avert the war.

Moscow has rejected any intentions for an invasion and dismissed the warnings as “Western hysteria.”

Asian markets were broadly lower amid concerns about a conflict, though the downside remained limited after China’s central bank stepped up support for its slowing economy by injecting a net 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) into the banking system with its medium-term lending facility.

Oil eased from its highest in more than seven years after a Ukrainian official said Kyiv was prepared to make concessions to Russia that could alleviate ongoing tensions.

Gold prices hit an eight-month high as the dollar and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields eased following mixed remarks by Federal Reserve officials.

While St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard made his case for a rapid move higher in interest rates to contain inflation pressures, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly advocated for a measured approach.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending lower for a third straight overnight amid Ukraine tensions, concerns over worsening inflation and aggressive Fed rate hikes.

The Dow dropped half a percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended flat with a negative bias.

European stocks tumbled with damage across the board. The pan European Stoxx 600 plunged 1.8 percent.

The German DAX fell 2 percent, France’s CAC 40 index gave up 2.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declined 1.7 percent.

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